Thread by @Doc_0

A coldly rational and impartial observer, comparing the outcomes between states and counties, would have no choice but to conclude that masks make the coronavirus pandemic WORSE.

theblaze.com/op-ed/horowitz…

Another possibility is that masks have very minimal benefits, which are completely overwhelmed by other factors in different locations - but in comparisons were other factors seem nearly identical, states with strict mask mandates and high compliance tend to fare worse.

This seems like an awfully important point to resolve, doesn't it? Shouldn't we be urgently digging into this "mask paradox" with every scientific tool at our disposal? We are not just urged, but often FORCED to wear them. We should determine if they're worse than useless.

It would be more than annoying if masks were useless or of very limited utility, but we're urged to wear them as if they had supreme power. It would be dangerous, because irrational devotion to masks prevents us from thinking clearly about the true problem and real solutions.

But it's an order of magnitude worse if masks are actively HARMFUL on balance, and yet we're forced to wear them and treat them as protection. Studiously ignoring growing evidence for this possibility goes beyond political negligence into the realm of human rights violations.

It's not really mysterious or counter-intuitive how masks could be useless, or worse than useless. Doctors understood the reasons why for many years before the coronavirus came along. It was pretty much "settled science," to use the common political parlance of the day.

It only seems "counter-intuitive" compared to the Beautiful Theory that masks are weird, intrusive, uncomfortable, expensive, and highly visible, therefore they MUST work. Dress like a doctor and diseases will go away.

There was a time, early on, when hopes that masks could offer a little protection from a disease whose characteristics were poorly understood were reasonable. We didn't know how it spread, so we tried everything.

There was also a time when the psychological benefit of wearing masks - we're DOING SOMETHING, we're taking control of this crisis, maybe it's safe to go back outside again, masks are a constant reminder to take other precautions - was arguably worth the risks.

But now we're sitting on over a year of real data - hard, cold, actual results - and the outcome is entirely inconsistent with everything we've been told about masks. And yet, we're still ordered to wear them - maybe two, or three at once! - and told it's our patriotic duty.

This is important, and not just from the political dimension. It's possible we're being forced to do something that is actually detrimental to our health. We should be sparing no effort to figure this out. It's not a quibble, it's CRUCIAL. But the questions are left unasked.

We have to get better at problem-solving, at measuring risks against rewards, at testing hypothesis against reality and discarding theories that don't pass the test. Instead, disproven theories are cherished for their alleged beauty and protected by politicians at all costs. /end